[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 543 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 543
To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional
redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment, to require
States to conduct such redistricting through independent commissions,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 17, 2007
Mr. Tanner (for himself and Mr. Wamp) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional
redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment, to require
States to conduct such redistricting through independent commissions,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness and
Independence in Redistricting Act of 2007''.
(b) Finding.--Congress finds that it has the authority to establish
the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying out
Congressional redistricting after an apportionment of Members of the
House of Representatives because--
(1) the authority granted to Congress under article I,
section 4 of the Constitution of the United States gives
Congress the power to enact laws governing the time, place, and
manner of elections for Members of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the authority granted to Congress under section 5 of
the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the
power to enact laws to enforce section 2 of such amendment,
which requires Representatives to be apportioned among the
several States according to their number.
SEC. 2. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING AFTER AN APPORTIONMENT.
The Act entitled ``An Act for the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo
Samala and to provide for congressional redistricting'', approved
December 14, 1967 (2 U.S.C. 2c), is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``A State which has been redistricted in the manner provided
by law after an apportionment under section 22(a) of the Act entitled
`An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses
and to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress',
approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), may not be redistricted again
until after the next apportionment of Representatives under such
section, unless a court requires the State to conduct such subsequent
redistricting to comply with the Constitution or to enforce the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).''.
SEC. 3. REQUIRING REDISTRICTING TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF
INDEPENDENT STATE COMMISSION OR PLAN OF HIGHEST STATE
COURT.
(a) Use of Plan Required.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any Congressional redistricting conducted by a State shall
be conducted in accordance with--
(A) the redistricting plan developed by the
independent redistricting commission established in the
State, in accordance with section 4; or
(B) if the plan developed by such commission is not
enacted into law, the redistricting plan selected by
the highest court in the State or developed by a United
States district court, in accordance with section 5.
(2) Other criteria and procedures permitted.--Nothing in
this Act or the amendments made by this Act may be construed to
prohibit a State from conducting Congressional redistricting in
accordance with such criteria and procedures as the State
considers appropriate, to the extent that such criteria and
procedures are consistent with the applicable requirements of
this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 22(c) of the Act entitled ``An
Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and
to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'',
approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking ``in
the manner provided by the law thereof'' and inserting: ``in the manner
provided by the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act of
2007''.
SEC. 4. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.
(a) Appointment of Members; Eligibility.--
(1) Appointment of members.--Each State shall establish an
independent redistricting commission composed of--
(A) a chair, who shall be appointed by majority
vote of the other members of the commission; and
(B) an equal number of members (but not fewer than
1) from each of the following categories:
(i) Members appointed by a member of the
upper house of the State legislature who
represents the political party with the
greatest number of seats in that house.
(ii) Members appointed by a member of the
upper house of the State legislature who
represents the political party with the second
greatest number of seats in that house.
(iii) Members appointed by a member of the
lower house of the State legislature who
represents the political party with the
greatest number of seats in that house.
(iv) Members appointed by a member of the
lower house of the State legislature who
represents the political party with the second
greatest number of seats in that house.
(2) Special rule for states with unicameral legislature.--
In the case of a State with a unicameral legislature, the
independent redistricting commission established under this
subsection shall be composed of--
(A) a chair, who shall be appointed by majority
vote of the other members of the commission; and
(B) an equal number of members (but not fewer than
2) from each of the following categories:
(i) Members appointed by a member of the
legislature who shall be selected by the chair
of the Government Affairs Committee of the
legislature to represent the State political
party whose candidate for chief executive of
the State received the greatest number of votes
on average in the 3 most recent general
elections for that office.
(ii) Members appointed by a member of the
legislature who shall be selected by the chair
of the Government Affairs Committee of the
legislature to represent the State political
party whose candidate for chief executive of
the State received the second greatest number
of votes on average in the 3 most recent
general elections for that office.
(3) Eligibility.--An individual is eligible to serve as a
member of an independent redistricting commission if--
(A) as of the date of appointment, the individual
is registered to vote in elections for Federal office
held in the State, and was registered to vote in the 2
most recent general elections for Federal office held
in the State;
(B) the individual did not hold public office or
run as a candidate for election for public office, or
serve as an employee of a political party or candidate
for election for public office, at any time during the
4-year period ending on the December 31 preceding the
date of appointment; and
(C) the individual certifies that he or she will
not run as a candidate for the office of Representative
in the Congress until after the next apportionment of
Representatives under section 22(a) of the Act entitled
``An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent
decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment
of Representatives in Congress'', approved June 18,
1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a).
(4) Vacancy.--A vacancy in the commission shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(5) Deadline.--Each State shall establish a commission
under this section, and the members of the commission shall
appoint the commission's chair, not later than the first
February 1 which occurs after the chief executive of a State
receives the State apportionment notice.
(6) Appointment of chair required prior to development of
redistricting plan.--The commission may not take any action to
develop a redistricting plan for the State under subsection (b)
until the appointment of the commission's chair in accordance
with paragraph (1)(E).
(b) Development of Redistricting Plan.--
(1) Criteria.--The independent redistricting commission of
a State shall develop a redistricting plan for the State in
accordance with the following criteria:
(A) Adherence to the ``one person, one vote''
standard and other requirements imposed under the
Constitution of the United States.
(B) To the greatest extent mathematically possible,
ensuring that the population of each Congressional
district in the State does not vary from the population
of any other Congressional district in the State (as
determined on the basis of the total count of persons
of the most recent decennial census conducted by the
Bureau of the Census).
(C) Consistency with any applicable requirements of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other Federal laws.
(D) To the greatest extent practicable, the
maintenance of the geographic continuity of the
political subdivisions of the State which are included
in the same Congressional district, in the following
order of priority:
(i) The continuity of counties or parishes.
(ii) The continuity of municipalities.
(iii) The continuity of neighborhoods (as
determined on the basis of census tracts or
other relevant information).
(E) To the greatest extent practicable, maintaining
compact districts (in accordance with such standards as
the commission may establish).
(F) Ensuring that districts are contiguous (except
to the extent necessary to include any area which is
surrounded by a body of water).
(2) Factors prohibited from consideration.--In developing
the redistricting plan for the State, the independent
redistricting commission may not take into consideration any of
the following factors, except to the extent necessary to comply
with the Voting Rights Act of 1965:
(A) The voting history of the population of a
Congressional district, except that the commission may
take such history into consideration to the extent
necessary to comply with any State law which requires
the establishment of competitive Congressional
districts.
(B) The political party affiliation of the
population of a district.
(C) The residence of incumbent Members of the House
of Representatives in the State.
(3) Public notice and input.--
(A) Public hearings; solicitation input from
public.--The commission shall hold each of its meetings
in public, and shall solicit and take into
consideration comments from the public in developing
the redistricting plan for the State.
(B) Notice of plans.--At the time the commission
submits a redistricting plan to the legislature of the
State under subsection (c)(1), the commission shall
notify the public through the publication of notice in
newspapers of general circulation throughout the State,
and shall publish a detailed version of the plan
(including a map showing each Congressional district
established under the plan and the voting age
population by race of each such district) on a public
Internet site of the State government.
(c) Submission of Plans to Legislature.--
(1) In general.--At any time prior to the first November 1
which occurs after the chief executive of the State receives
the State apportionment notice, the commission may submit
redistricting plans developed by the commission under this
section to the legislature of the State.
(2) Consideration of plan by legislature.--After receiving
any redistricting plan under paragraph (1), the legislature of
a State may--
(A) approve the plan as submitted by the commission
without amendment and forward the plan to the chief
executive of the State; or
(B) reject the plan.
(3) Enactment of plan.--
(A) In general.--A redistricting plan developed by
the commission shall be considered to be enacted into
law only if the plan is forwarded to the chief
executive of the State pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)
and--
(i) the chief executive approves the plan
as forwarded by the legislature without
amendment; or
(ii) the chief executive vetoes the plan
and the legislature overrides the veto in
accordance with the applicable law of the
State, except that at no time may the plan be
amended.
(B) Special rule.--In the case of a State in which
the chief executive is prohibited under State law from
acting on a redistricting plan, a redistricting plan
developed by the commission shall be considered to be
enacted into law if--
(i) the plan is submitted to the
legislature of the State; and
(ii) the legislature approves the plan as
submitted by the commission without amendment.
(d) Requiring Majority Approval for Actions.--The independent
redistricting commission of a State may not submit a redistricting plan
to the State legislature, or take any other action, without the
approval of at least a majority of its members given at a meeting at
which at least a majority of its members are present.
(e) Termination.--
(1) In general.--The independent redistricting commission
of a State shall terminate on the day after the date of the
first regularly scheduled general election for Federal office
which occurs after the chief executive of the State receives
the State apportionment notice.
(2) Preservation of records.--The State shall ensure that
the records of the independent redistricting commission are
retained in the appropriate State archive in such manner as may
be necessary to enable the State to respond to any civil action
brought with respect to Congressional redistricting in the
State.
SEC. 5. SELECTION OF PLAN BY COURTS.
(a) State Court.--
(1) Submission and selection of plan.--If a redistricting
plan developed by the independent redistricting commission of a
State is not enacted into law under section 4(c)(3) by the
first November 1 which occurs after the chief executive of the
State receives the State apportionment notice, the commission
may submit redistricting plans developed by the commission in
accordance with section 4 to the highest court of the State,
which may select and publish one of the submitted plans to
serve as the redistricting plan for the State.
(2) No modification of plan permitted.--The highest court
of a State may not modify any redistricting plan submitted
under this subsection.
(b) Federal Court.--
(1) Failure of state court to select plan.--
(A) Notice to court if plan not selected by state
court.--If a State court to whom redistricting plans
have been submitted under subsection (a) does not
select a plan to serve as the redistricting plan for
the State under such subsection on or before the first
December 1 which occurs after the chief executive of
the State receives the State apportionment notice, the
State shall file a notice with the United States
district court for the district in which the capital of
the State is located.
(B) Development and selection of plan by federal
court.--Not later than 30 days after receiving a notice
from a State under subparagraph (A), the court shall
develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the
State.
(2) Failure of state to establish commission.--
(A) In general.--If a State does not establish an
independent redistricting commission under section 4 by
the first September 1 which occurs after the chief
executive of the State receives the State apportionment
notice--
(i) the State may not establish the
commission; and
(ii) the United States district court for
the district in which the capital of the State
is located shall develop and publish a final
redistricting plan for the State not later than
the first December 1 which occurs after the
chief executive of the State receives the State
apportionment notice.
(B) Determination of failure to establish
commission.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), a State
shall be considered to have failed to establish an
independent redistricting commission by the date
referred to in such subparagraph if a chair of the
commission has not been appointed on or before such
date.
(3) Criteria.--It is the sense of Congress that, in
developing a redistricting plan for a State under this
subsection, the district court should adhere to the same terms
and conditions that applied to the development of the plan of
the commission under section 4(b).
(c) Access to Information and Records of Commission.--A court which
is required to select, publish, or develop a redistricting plan for a
State under this section shall have access to any information, data,
software, or other records and material used by the independent
redistricting commission of the State in carrying out its duties under
this Act.
SEC. 6. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL
COURT.
If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redistricting
subsequent to an apportionment of Representatives in the State in order
to comply with the Constitution or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of
1965, sections 4 and 5 shall apply with respect to the redistricting,
except that--
(1) the deadline for the establishment of the independent
redistricting commission and the appointment of the
commission's chair (as described in section 4(a)(5)) shall be
the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the date of
the final order of the Federal court to conduct the
redistricting;
(2) the deadline for the submission of redistricting plans
to the legislature by the commission, and the date of the
termination of the commission (as described in section 4(c)(1)
and section 4(e)) shall be the expiration of the 150-day period
which begins on the date of the final order of the Federal
court to conduct the redistricting;
(3) the deadline for the selection and publication of the
plan by the highest court of the State (as described in section
5(a)) shall be the expiration of the 180-day period which
begins on the date of the final order of the Federal court to
conduct the redistricting; and
(4) the deadline for the selection and publication of the
plan by the district court of the United States (as described
in section 5(b)) shall be the expiration of the 210-day period
which begins on the date of the final order of the Federal
court to conduct the redistricting.
SEC. 7. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT REDISTRICTING.
(a) Authorization of Payments.--Subject to subsection (d), not
later than 30 days after a State receives a State apportionment notice,
the Election Assistance Commission shall make a payment to the State in
an amount equal to the product of--
(1) the number of Representatives to which the State is
entitled, as provided under the notice; and
(2) $150,000.
(b) Use of Funds.--A State shall use the payment made under this
section to establish and operate the State's independent redistricting
commission, to implement the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise
carry out Congressional redistricting in the State.
(c) No Payment to States With Single Member.--The Election
Assistance Commission shall not make a payment under this section to
any State which is not entitled to more than one Representative under
its State apportionment notice.
(d) Requiring Establishment of Commission as Condition of
Payment.--The Election Assistance Commission may not make a payment to
a State under this section until the State certifies to the Commission
that the State has established an independent redistricting commission,
and that a chair of the commission has been appointed, in accordance
with section 4.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for payments under this
section.
SEC. 8. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED.
In this Act, the ``State apportionment notice'' means, with respect
to a State, the notice sent to the State from the Clerk of the House of
Representatives under section 22(b) of the Act entitled ``An Act to
provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to
provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the number of Representatives to which
the State is entitled.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with
respect to any Congressional redistricting which occurs after the
regular decennial census conducted during 2010.
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